A New Home
by Hi no Hime
Summary: Lightning and her friends have won. Now they have a new world that they must make their own. Though they know that together they can do anything.
1. Waking in a New World

Disclaimer- I own NOTHING!

Summary- Lightning and her friends have won. Now they have a new world that they must make their own. Though they know that together they can do anything.

Chapter 1: Waking in a New World

…

Total darkness. That is all I see. Suddenly there is a bright light and I feel myself land on a soft, but firm surface. It takes me a minute to realize that I am laying on grass. Then I feel a soft breeze on my face as I slowly open my eyes.

At first it is too bright but as my eyes adjust I am able to look around. I am in a meadow, trees are all around the edges. On the breeze I can smell wildflowers. It takes me a minute to remember why I am here. Then in a sudden rush all on my memories come back to me. Everything from my fight as a l'Cie with my friends, fighting Caius as Etro's champion, and then my time as the Savior. Vivid memories of my fight with Bhunivelze flood my mind. Being lost in the chaos, reuniting with my emotions in the form of Lumina, Hope guiding me out of the sea of despair, then everyone I love helping me deliver the final blow.

At the thought of Hope I couldn't help but remember what he went through as Bhunivelze's puppet. The pain he must of suffered, unable to even control his own body. Over a hundred years as that bastard god's prisoner. Then on top of all of that I had basically abandoned him for almost 1000 years. Sure he was asleep for a lot of it, but the fact still remains. Then it hits me. 1000 years and he still never gave up on me. In the end he was the one who was there. He's the one who answered my call and pulled me from the chaos. Why did he do that? He could have gone and been with his parents again, but he choose to stay and rescue me.

I feel moisture on my cheeks and realize that I am crying. I seem to be doing that a lot now. I wipe the tears away just in time to hear someone coming. I instinctively go to grab my weapon, only to discover it's not there. I have a moment of panic as the footsteps get closer. I look to see who or what is approaching and then I hear the most beautiful sound ever.

"LIGHTNING!" It's my younger sister Serah. She sees me at the same time I can see her and we run to each other. Faster than I could have imagined she is in front of me and we embrace one another. She is really here. I did it, no we all did it. We saved the world and we saved each other. And now I have my sister back. I am crying again and for once I am not ashamed. I haven't been this happy since before our parents died.

"Lightning it's really you! Look Light you did it! You saved us all!" Serah is jumping around excitedly looking around my meadow. Before I can respond we hear someone crashing around in the bushes. I don't even have to look to know that it's Snow. I don't know anyone else who could honestly make that much noise.

Serah seems to realize this at the same time as me because she looks toward the area the sounds are coming from, excitement all over her face. And she is not disappointed. Just seconds pass and the oaf is in sight. Serah looks at me questioningly and I give her a small nod. She then smiles bigger than I have ever seen and runs toward him calling his name.

He hears her call and runs to meet her. When they reach each other he picks her up and swings her around. I can hear them both laughing. When they kiss I look away, taking in more of our surroundings. While looking I see Fang and Vanille making their way towards us. They are holding hands and Vanille is beaming. Looking at Fang she seems pretty happy too. They see me and come over.

"Hey there Sunshine." Fang calls out as they get closer.

"Lightning!" Vanille squeals and runs the rest of the way to me, Fang right behind her. Then Vanille grabs me into a squeezing hug and lets go promptly then goes back and grabs Fangs hand again. "Look Light we did it! I can just tell everyone is here. The souls of the living and the dead. You were right!" Vanille is jumping around. I smile at her enthusiasm.

'I see you already found the lovebirds." Fang says indicating Snow and Serah. "Any sign of the others?"

"Not yet." I realize that those are my first words in the new world. "Those tow just showed up. How far away did you come from?"

"Not too far. We'd only been walking a few minutes when we heard those two yelling. Vanille and I ended up pretty close to one another. What about you? You and Serah land together?"

"No. When I woke up I was alone. Serah must not have been too far though. She…" I wasn't able to finish my sentence because right at that moment Snow and Serah came back and Snow pulles me into a hug and swings me around like a rag doll.

"SIS! Can you believe it? Look at this place! It's like nothing bad could ever happen. And look we're all together! Well not all. We still have to find Hope, Noel, and Sazh. Oh and Dajh and Yuel too."

"Snow. Snow. SNOW! Please put me down before I make you. And please quit rambling." I say getting frustrated. Snow does put me down and shuts up. I then take charge and lay out the situation. "Now yes we need to find the others and while we're at it we should make sure there is nothing dangerous in the area. Now I don't seem to have a weapon, do any of you?" I look at Fang and Snow with that last question. Fang shakes her head.

"Hey I got all the weapon I need right here!" Snow says holding up his fist. "And besides isn't this supposed to be our 'Perfect New World.' I doubt there's anything to bad leaking around here."

"That may be true, but I would still rather be safe than sorry. Now as for finding the others I think our best bet is to split up and then meet back up here later. If this world's sun works the same as the old world then it looks like it's still early. Snow, you take Serah with you and head back in the direction you came from. Fang, you and Vanille do the same. Head back the direction you came from and see if you can find the others. I will head that way by myself." I indicate a direction I believe is north.

Serah looks at me concerned. "But Light should you really be going off on your own? I mean I know your tough and all, but you're still human."

I look at her with as much warmth as I can trying to reassure her. "Don't worry Serah. I can take care of myself. Besides it would be best for us to cover as much ground as we can. I promise you I will be fine."

"Yea babe, no need to worry. Sis can handle herself. I mean she beat a god. Yea we all helped there in the end, but she did most of the heavy lifting there." Snow's words seem to calm Serah's fears and she nods and smiles.

"Alright, just be careful sis. We just got back together."

"I will Serah. That goes for everyone. We don't know the terrain or what could be lurking in these woods. Watch your backs and watch out for each other. Let's try to meet back here before sunset. On your way back try to find any food or firewood you can. We'll need as much as we can get. Let's move out."

"Sir Yes sir" Snow calls with a mocking salute. I just shake my head and begin walking the direction I had indicated earlier. Behind me I can hear the others exchange a quick greeting before moving on as well.

…

A/N: Hey everyone! I love FF:XIII and after finishing LR the plot bunnies attacked. This will be Hope/Light so if you don't like it then leave now. If you do like it then I hope you enjoy the story. Whoever you are I hope you will leave a review and let me know what I did well, what I can improve on, and any other thoughts you might have. I hope Lightning isn't to ooc. This is only my second FF:XIII fic, and the first multi-chapter. I have mostly done Fullmetal Alchemist so if you are a fan of that then go and check out some of my other stuff. Thank you all! Later!


	2. Finding Hope

Disclaimer- I own NOTHING!

Summary- Lightning and her friends have won. Now they have a new world that they must make their own. Though they know that together they can do anything.

Chapter 2: Finding Hope

…

After walking for a while I come across a stream. I kneel down to touch the water. It's cool and soothing. As I look around I take in the beauty of this new world. The trees and various plants aren't familiar though. It appears that this world has its own flora and I assume the fauna will be unfamiliar as well. The only thing that is similar between this world and the old world seems to be the sky.

I take off my boots and socks and put my feet in the water. It's then that I realize that I am back in my Guardian Corps uniform. It's been so long since I've felt that familiar fabric. I don't know how I ended up back in these clothes but I'm glad I am.

I soak my feet for a little while longer before pulling my socks and boots on and start walking again. While walking I look around to see if there is anything that seems edible. I walk for an hour or two when I come across a group of trees covered with apples.

'So maybe some things aren't so different' I think to myself as I make my way to the grove. I go to the tree that appears to have the most apples and unclip my cape. I lay it on the ground, intending to use it to carry the fruit back to the others. I climb the tree and find a sturdy branch to sit on and begin picking the apples and throwing them down. I try to get them as close to my cape as I can.

As I'm picking apples and tossing them down I begin to hum softly to myself. I use to enjoy singing, back before my parents died. It has been so long since I've let myself sing. After my parents' death and I had to start caring for Serah I just couldn't bring myself to sing anymore. It felt nice to let myself go again. Now that I've reunited with Lumina I can feel myself becoming more like I was when I was younger.

Suddenly I hear a man's voice call up to me.

"Hello! Is someone up there?" The voice seems kind of familiar, but for some reason I can't quite place it. I look down to see the man walk up to where I've thrown all the apples. I can't really see any of his features so I jump down from my branch. I land facing away from him. He must have heard me land because I can feel him turning around.

"I'm sorry if I disturbed you. I was just walking through looking for my friends when I heard you humming. Then I saw the apples dropping and…" He never finishes his sentence because at that moment I turn around and there is instant recognition all over his face.

"LIGHT! Is that really you?" His face is not how I remember him, but his eyes are exactly the same.

"Hope." My voice is just a whisper, but as soon as I say his name I know he heard me and he smiles. His whole face lights up when and he is beautiful. Unsure of where those thought are coming from I turn my full attention back to the man in front of he. Before I know it he pulls me into a tight hug. He's taller than me now and it's a little unnerving. I was never able to be close to him when he was an adult before. Sure I had watched him, along with everyone else, while I was in Valhalla but watching him and being next to him are completely different.

It took me a few seconds before I could bring myself to respond to his embrace. As I wrap my arms around him, he tightens his hold on me. I rest my head on his shoulder and his scent surrounds me. I relax against him as he starts to whisper in my ear.

"Light, I can't believe it's you. You're really here. I missed you so much." I can feel moisture on my cheeks and realize that he's crying. I pull away slightly, though not leaving his arms. I look him in the eye as more tears fall. I brush away the tears and rest my hand on his cheek.

"Hope I am so sorry. I am sorry for everything you had to go through because of me. And I am sorry that I left you alone. I promised to take care of you, but I failed. For 1000 years I failed you. I was so focused on everything else that I let you fall by the wayside. And after all of that you still saved me. How? How can you still care for me? You should hate me, curse me, and never want to see me again." I fall to my knees, slipping from his grasp. He kneels down and cups my face with his hands. Now he's wiping the tears from my eyes. He leans forward and kisses my forehead and pulls me back into his arms.

"Light, I could never hate you. I understand why you were gone. Yes I was sad and a little upset that you never contacted me like you did everyone else, but I know you had your reasons. Everything I did, my entire life, was all to be able to see you again. You didn't fail me. You gave me strength, you motivated me, and let's not forget that _you_ saved me more times than I can count. If it weren't for you I would be lost in the sea of Chaos while Bhunivelze used my body to do whatever he wanted. Sure it's been a long time, but that doesn't matter anymore. All that matters is that you are here now, with me. Light I have waited too long to give you up now."

He pulls me to my feet and wipes away the remaining tears trickling down my face. He seems reluctant to let me go, but eventually he does. The look in his eyes changes from the soft gaze he's been looking at me with to one of determination. I knew this look. It was the same look he had before he had to do something important. I saw him with this look almost every time I looked down on him while I was in Valhalla. I straighten up, steeling myself once again.

"So umm, that's a lot of apples." He says indicating the pile a few feet from us. "Are they all for you or…"

"No they're for Serah, Snow, Fang, and Vanille too. Along with anyone else we happen to find. I wonder if I have enough though, we know how Snow gets when he's hungry." We both chuckle a bit at the thought.

"Well if you want I can help you pick some more." Hope offers with a warm smile.

"Sure, how about I pick them and toss them down to you. That way you can keep the pile neat and we won't have to worry about gathering them all back up when we're done."

He nods and says "Sounds good." He then goes and starts gathering the ones I already picked and puts them in a pile on my cape. "Is this what you were planning to use to carry the apples?"

"Yes." Is all I say before climbing back up my tree. We start a steady system gathering the fruit. It feels nice to be working with him again. Even if it's just gathering apples. We continue this for a while until we feel we have enough. I jump down as Hope is tying up my cape so none of the apples fall out.

I pick up the makeshift bag of apples and begin walking. "Come on the others are waiting this way." Hope jogs a little to catch up and we walk in a comfortable silence. When we get to the stream I had stopped at earlier we decided to take a rest for a few minutes.

As we sit by the stream I begin to reflect on everything. We've only been in this new world for a few hours and already so much has happened. I found was reunited with my sister, she was reunited with her fiancé, we found some of our friends, and I found Hope. I think back to our exchange back at the orchard. Why did I react like that when I saw him? Yes I've always cared, well not always, for him but why did seeing him again, in his adult form, affect me so. I am broken out of my reverie by a sudden splash and in the blink of an eye I was soaked.

"Hope! Why did you do that?" I ask wiping the water out of my eyes.

"Because Light you look so serious. Come on lighten up." He said with a ridiculous smirk on his face. I want nothing more than to wipe it off.

"Oh yea? I need to lighten up?" I say standing up and making my way over to him.

"Come on Light. It was just a joke. Please don't be mad." He gulped looking afraid and backing up a bit.

"Oh I'm not mad." I keep moving closer.

"Really? Cus you look kind of mad." He backed up some more.

"No Hope I'm not mad at all." I finally reach him and put my hand on his chest.

"Light… Light what are you doing?" He stammers trying to squirm away from me. I grab a fist full of his shirt and yank him to me.

"Why do you think I'm going to do something Hope?" Before I he has a chance to answer I swing him around and throw him into the stream. However he managed to catch my arm and he pulls me in with him. The stream is barely deep enough to cover us both. We struggle for a few seconds to untangle from each other. I sit up and the water reaches my shoulders.

Hope manages to get up and he looks at me. We both stand and Hope comes at me. He tackles me back into the water and we spend the next half hour wrestling and just playing around in the water. By the time we stop we are both soaking wet and laughing harder than I have since I was a child.

We lay down on the stream's bank side by side. Still laughing he looks at me and inhales deeply. I turn onto my side to face him. I am smiling more than I ever have. He turns to face me as well. Several locks of my hair fall into my face and he reaches up nervously and brushes them behind my ear. We stare into each other's eyes, his hand resting gently on the side of my face. He is smiling at me and closes his eyes. We lay there just enjoying the sun on our bodies and each other's presence. I don't think I have ever felt so relaxed in my life.

I watch him beside me, eyes closed just relaxing in the warm sun. I can't help but think he is beautiful again. The sun reflects off the water drops in his hair and his expression is so peaceful. I want things to be like this all the time. I never want him to have to worry or feel pain. Right then I make a silent vow to myself to do everything in my power to make him happy. I can't figure out why I'm feeling like this, but at this exact moment I really don't care.

I reach over and gently caress his cheek. His smile grows even bigger, I didn't even think that would be possible. Then I lean forward and press my forehead and nose to his. He gasps at the sudden contact and I can feel our breaths mingle. Everything about this feels so right, but at the same time I'm a little nervous. I don't really know what I am doing or why I am doing it and that scares me. Maybe I need to talk to Serah about this. At the thought of Serah I suddenly pull away and sit up. Hope opens his eyes and looks at my questioningly.

"What's up Light?" He sits up as well. I take a deep breath and exhale slowly.

"We should be going. The others are going to start to worry about me. Serah was nervous enough about me going off by myself."

He smiles gently and stands up. He then offers me his hand and I take it. He pulls me to my feet, but doesn't let go of my hand. We walk hand in hand to where we left the apples. I don't want to let go of him, but I know I have to. He seems just as reluctant to release my hand, but eventually we do let go and I pick up the apples. We begin walking again back to the rest of our family.

…

A/N: Okay so lots of HxL fluff in this one. I hope you all liked it. I'm thinking about switching to Hope's pov for some parts, but I'm not sure yet. What do you guys think? If I get enough people saying they want to see something in Hope's pov then I will, if not then I'll stick to just Light. Let me know what you think. Later.


	3. Reuniting the Family

Disclaimer- I own NOTHING!

Summary- Lightning and her friends have won. Now they have a new world that they must make their own. Though they know that together they can do anything.

Chapter 3: Reuniting the Family

…

Hope and I walk in silence the rest of the way to the meadow where I woke up. It's starting to get later and I can tell that the sun will set soon. I hope that the others have managed to find some fire wood. I wonder if they were able to find any of the others. I begin to make a mental list of everything we will need to do in the next few days. We will need to find some sort of shelter, we need to find a better source of food (we can't live off of just apples), and we need to start looking for other people.

As we near the meadow I can hear Snow talking loudly. He seems to be telling a story. I can hear laughter, though it's definitely not just Serah, Fang and Vanille. We finally reach the meadow and I can see where they've managed to start a fire and they are all sitting around it. The four of them are there, as well as Noel and Yuel. I don't see any sign of Sazh or Dajh though.

Serah is the first to notice us as we approach. She gets up and runs to us.

"Light! You're back! Oh and you found Hope! What's in there?" She is smiling as she pointed to my cape full of apples.

"I found an apple orchard a while back, so I picked a bunch. That's also where I found Hope, well more like he found me." I say as we walk back to the others. I set the apples down while everyone else jumps up to greet Hope.

Vanille runs up to him and practically jumps on him and manages to knock him down. I feel a slight pain in my chest at the sight, but quickly brush it off. When he stands back up Fang walks up and smacks his back, knocking him to the ground again, and comments on his height. Snow grabs him and messes with his hair while laughing.

Noel briefly says hello to me as he goes to talk to Hope. They stare at each other for a second. At first Hope has a guarded look in his eyes and Noel looks unsure.

"Hello Noel. It's been a long time" Hope's voice is steely, as if he's worried that Noel could attack any minute. I decide that I need to ask him about that later.

"Hello Hope." Noel takes a deep breath. "Look man, I'm sorry. You were right and I should have trusted your judgment. Who knows, maybe if I had things wouldn't have ended up going so wrong."

Hope still looks unsure but then looks to me and his eyes soften. I know he can see the questions in my eyes and he smiles at me lightly. He looks back to Noel and the softness in Hope's eyes and his smile disappear.

"I'm glad you finally see that, but it's a little late. Don't you think? Besides I'm not really the one you should be apologizing to." He nods towards me. By this point Snow, Fang, and Vanille have all backed away. "If she forgives you then I guess I can too."

"Hope, there's nothing for me to forgive. I understand why he did what he did. In fact I would have done the same thing." I stare intently at Hope as I speak. He takes a deep breath and exhales slowly.

"Alright Light. If that's how you feel, then I'll play nice." I smile at him and he smiles back, but there is still a wary look in his eyes. Noel just nods and goes back to sit with Yuel. There is a thick tension in the air until Snow decides to speak up.

"Okay now that that's taken care of let's why don't we work on our game plan a bit."

We all move to sit around the fire and I pull out my cape full of apples and everyone takes what they want. I sit back down and everyone starts to eat. Hope comes and sits close to me. Our arms brush each other and it sends a tingly sensation up and down my arm. I can tell there is something he wants to say to me but he keeps silent. I decide that later I will pull him aside and talk to him alone, most likely after everyone else is asleep. He rests his arms by his sides and I gently brush my hand against his. He looks at me and I mouth the word 'Later' to him. He seems to understand what I mean and nods.

"Right. First thing we need to do is find more reliable sources of food. As we mentioned earlier Hope and I found an apple orchard and on the way there is a stream, so water is not an issue. However we cannot survive on apples alone. Did any of you guys find anything?" I look at the others and Snow speaks up.

"While we were out Serah and I saw some animals. I thought maybe we can try to make some sort of spear or something and we could probably eat them. Most of them are pretty fast though, so maybe a few traps would work. Oh, and we found those two." Snow points to Noel and Yuel.

"That's actually not a bad idea Snow. I'm sure we can find some rocks and sticks to make a spear, and if we can find some rope or vines I can make a snare trap. Fang, Vanille what about you too? Did you find anything useful?" I ask looking at them.

"We found a river and there were lots of fish!" Vanille says excitedly.

"Yea, it's probably the same one that trickles into that stream of yours. We followed it for a while and found a couple of caves at the bottom of a waterfall. Way I figure it we can use those for shelter if need be."

"That sounds good. If we can find a shallow enough spot in the river then we can catch the fish with our hands, or once we managed to get some spears put together we can use them. It's getting late, so I think we should stay where we are for the night and in the morning we can go take a closer look at those caves. Just to be safe we should set up a watch schedule. I'll take first watch. With as many people as we have we can probably work it out so no one has more than a 2 hour watch."

We agree that I will take first watch, Fang will take second, Snow will take third, and Noel will take fourth. Hope volunteers to take first watch with me.

"One more thing, I know this is probably a moot point, but was there any sign of Sazh and Dajh, or anyone else? I ask everyone as they continue to eat. They all shake their heads. "Okay that is another thing we need to add to our to-do list. After we've managed to gather some supplies we will start to look for anyone else. With luck we'll be able to find Sazh and Dajh soon."

"I hope they are at least together." Serah adds solemnly.

"Hey don't worry babe. All of us woke up close to the people we love the most, so I'm sure they're together." Snow says trying to comfort her. I can see that it works.

She smiles at him and says "Yeah, I'm sure you're right. And we all woke up close together, so maybe they aren't too far from here. They just weren't as close as everyone else." She smiles some more and snuggles into her fiancé.

By the time everyone finishes eating it is dark so everyone except Hope and me go to sleep. I start out by walking around the perimeter of the meadow looking for any signs of danger. After I am reasonable assured that nothing is lurking about I head back to the fire where Hope is sitting. He is watching me as I approach.

Before I manage to sit down he stands up, silently grabs my hand, and leads me away from where everyone is sleeping. He leads me over to a group of large rocks and we sit down on them. The fire light casts shadows over his face making it difficult for me to read what he's feeling. He lets out a small sigh before he speaks.

"I got the feeling earlier that you wanted to talk to me. Everyone is asleep now, so I thought it would be a good time, you know since everyone is asleep." He looks a little sheepish.

"Oh, yea. I wanted to know what that was about earlier with Noel. I know he tried to kill me and all, but I don't blame him for doing it. You know that, so what's with the hostility?" This time he took a deep breath and massaged his temples for a minute.

"It wasn't that, exactly. I mean yes I'm not thrilled that he tried to kill you, and even more so that I couldn't really help you. It was more about before that. Way back before you woke up, before I was captured by Bhunivelze. Within the first hundred years after time stopped. We had…a fight."

"A fight?" I raise an eyebrow.

"Yea. Noel Snow and I were working to try and keep civilization together. Things were going well. We were all a little depressed due to loosing you and Serah, but we kept it together for the sake of the people. Snow established Yusnaan and Noel and I were working to build Luxerion. The Wildlands and Dead Dunes kind of established themselves. Anyway as we were working the rumors about the Savior started. It wasn't difficult to figure out it meant you. Not for us anyway. The Order of Salvation was established, and soon after the Children of Etro. We tried to remain impartial, at least outwardly. I will admit I was sympathetic to the Order, since they didn't want you dead, and it seemed that Noel agreed with me." He stands up and starts pacing.

"Then one day out of nowhere he started spouting all kinds of crazy stuff. Like how maybe it would be best if you never woke up and maybe the Savior _was_ out to destroy the world. I couldn't believe it. I just lost it. I started yelling at him. How could he say such things? After everything you did, everything you sacrificed. How DARE he turn his back on you? Especially knowing everything I went through to try to get you back. He knew how much you meant, and still mean, to me. He started yelling back and I told him to leave and he did. The next I heard of him was the rumors about the Shadow Hunter. How the Shadow Hunter was going to kill the 'evil' Savior. I didn't want to believe that it was him and until you fought him I didn't know for certain, but in my heart I knew." Hope stops pacing and is standing right in front of me, looking right in my eyes.

"Light _that_ is what I couldn't forgive. He turned his back on you, on all of us. And then he tried to kill you. I finally got you back, even if I wasn't in control of my body, I was still with you. I got you back and _he tried to take you away again_. I just… I just couldn't handle that." Hope turns away as he finishes speaking. I stand up and put my arms around his waist and rest my head on his shoulder.

"Hope. I am sorry. I am so so sorry. I don't think I will ever be able to forgive myself for everything you had to go through. But like I said I understand why he did everything, including trying to kill me. I hate that it hurt you so much, you have suffered way too much because of me. I forgive Noel. He was just trying to do what he thought would give him back the one he loves. I would, I _have_ done the same for Serah. And to be honest, I would do the same for you."

Hope turns around, still in my embrace. He stares into my eyes and it's like he can see right through me. It was always so difficult for me to hide from him. Even before when we were L'Cie he always seemed to know what I was feeling. He cups my face with his hands.

"Light." He says, his voice just a whisper. Then without thinking about what I was about to do I move my head forward and press my lips against his. He doesn't respond at first but then he kisses back. I can feel all of his sadness, his loneliness, and his love. So much love. He tangles one and in my hair and wraps the other around my waist. I grab the sides of his face, running my fingers through his hair and kiss him deeper.

When we finally have to stop and breathe we stare into each other's eyes. In that exact moment everything comes crashing down on me. I start to panic and pull away. Then I do the only thing I can think of. I run.

…

A/N: Okay so please don't hate me for the cliffy. I have a plan and it will have a happy ending. This just felt like what she would do. I have decided that next chapter will have some of Hope's pov. I want to thank those who have reviewed and invite the rest of you to leave one as well. Also I would like to ask that if there is a specific part that you feel I need to relook at then please put it in the review. For example some have mentioned tense changes, so I would appreciate it if you could tell me exactly what part is the issue. Either copy and paste the text into the review or describe it so I can know what part you mean. Thank you all. See you next chapter!


	4. Dealing with Confusion

Disclaimer- I own NOTHING!

Summary- Lightning and her friends have won. Now they have a new world that they must make their own. Though they know that together they can do anything.

Chapter 4: Dealing With Confusion

…

Hope's POV

I am left stunned. One minute I am kissing the woman I've been in love with for literally 1000 years and then she just takes off. And better yet _she_ kissed _me_! Why did she run like that? Should I go after her? A million questions fill me head and not a single answer. Maybe I should just give her some space. But at the same time I want to know what's going on. Did she not like the kiss? Does she regret kissing me? I'm almost afraid of the answer.

No. I have to know. I have to go after her. I run over to wake up Fang. It's not easy but she does get up.

"Hey where you going?" She asks me as I'm about to go after Light.

"Just something I need to take care of." I turn to leave.

"I don't suppose it has to do with Sunshine not being here?"

"I… just…I need to go." I run as fast as I can while Fang laughs behind me. I head in the direction I saw Light go. As I run I look for any sign, any clue that might lead me to her. I have no idea what I'm going to say. I just know that I need to find her.

…

Light's POV

I run. As fast as I can. Not paying any attention to where I'm going. I just keep moving. I can feel my muscles start to burn from the strain, but I don't, can't, stop. I need to get away. I can feel tears running down my face, but I don't do anything about them. I run and run and run.

Suddenly I trip on something and then I'm under water. I manage to get myself above the surface and try to get my bearings. I realize that I'm back at the stream. The same one that Hope and I had our water fight earlier. I pull myself out of the water and sit on the bank. As I sit there I try to regain some control over my thought.

First thing's first. I kissed Hope. _I _kissed Hope. Why did I do that? Answer, because it felt right. But why did it feel right? That is what I really need to figure out. Could it be that I have some sort of feeling for him? I mean, I know that he's the one I'm closest to. He's my best friend, my partner, the one I have _always_ been able to rely on. I wish Serah were here. She could help me figure this all out.

Okay move on. Second thing. I liked kissing Hope. Why did I like kissing Hope? It was nice. It felt really good. I have _never_ felt like that before. All I want is to be close to him again. Having his arms around me made me feel so warm and safe. I have never needed anyone to make me feel safe before. I am fully capable of taking care of myself. So WHY does it make me so happy that he makes me feel that way?

Then there's Hope. How does he feel? Well that's kind of obvious. He must care for me. I mean I know he cares for me, but in what way does he care for me? When he kissed me back I felt something from him. It was like he never wanted to let me go. He as good as told me that he never wanted to be away from me. Then there's the fact that he worked for 1000 years to get me back. I know I'm the one he's closest to and I was the one who helped him after him mom died. So was he just doing all of that because he felt he owed me? Or could it have been something else? Could he… could he be in love with me?

No that's impossible. Hope can't be in love with me. Or can he? God I don't know. I am so confused. Before I worry about how Hope feels I need to figure out how _I_ feel first.

Okay so I kissed Hope. I liked kissing Hope. He makes me feel safe, and I like that. He makes me happy. While we were L'Cie he was the one who could make me laugh the most. I like being with him, and even now with all this confusion I'm feeling, I wish he were here with me. But what does all of this mean? I've never had to deal with anything like this before. GAH! I NEED SERAH!

I don't have any more time to think because right at this moment I can hear crashing sounds. Like someone running. I stand up to get a look at who's coming, though I think I already know. And I'm right. As soon as I stand up fully there he is. The very man who's been filling my thoughts all day. He's looking around when he notices me.

"Light." He's out of breath from running. He makes his way over to me and stops a few feet away. "Light, what was that? Why did you run?" Even with only moonlight I can see his face. I can see the hurt and confusion. I expect to see anger as well, but it's not there.

"Hope, I… I don't know. I'm sorry." He takes a few steps towards me. He's still keeping some distance though, remaining just outside of my reach.

'About what? What are you sorry about?" He looks at me with such intensity that I just was to hide. Then I realize, I'm afraid. Whether I'm afraid of the situation or Hope himself I'm not sure, but I am very afraid.

"Everything I guess." I try to turn away from him, but he grabs my arm, preventing me from moving.

"Everything? Tell me honestly Light, do you regret kissing me?" Now he's holding onto both of my arms. His grip is firm, but not too tight. I could easily get out if I wanted to. I look into his eyes and can feel tears forming in mine.

"I… I don't know. Hope." I caress his cheek with my hand. He feels so nice and warm. I want to grab him and never let go. "I've never done anything like this before. Kissing, relationships, love, all of that seemed so pointless after my parents died. I had to take care of Serah and nothing else mattered. I never even looked at a guy that way before."

I break away from his grip. I can tell he's worried that I'll run away again, but I won't. I need to face this, now. We need to be a team, and we can't be one if there is something hanging between us like this. I start to pace.

"Damnit Hope! Why is it always you? I spent years building up my walls so no one could get close to me, so I would never get hurt. And then YOU come along and knock them all over like they're _nothing_. Only you. You look at me with those eyes and with that look and every ounce of control I've built up is just gone." By now I am exhausted. I look back at him, straight into his eyes. "To answer your question Hope, no. I don't regret kissing you. Not a second of it. But I'm afraid." Hope's eyes widen. "Like I said I have never felt like this before. I'm not even sure _what_ exactly I feel. I just know that I liked the kiss and I want to be close to you. Please Hope, just give me some time to sort this out in my head. And besides, right now is really not the time to be dealing with all of these confusing emotions and everything. We need to focus on surviving. Maybe once we're all settled and we don't have to worry as much, then maybe we can figure this all out. But until then we have other things that need our focus."

Hope is silent for a minute, taking in everything I just said. He walks up to me and puts his arms around me.

"Alright Light. I can wait. I've waited 1000 years, I think I can wait a little longer. But promise me. Promise that once everything is settled, once we have things taken care of, and we don't have to worry so much about surviving that we _will_ talk about this. Promise me that you will consider giving this, whatever it is, a chance." He kisses me on my forehead and steps back.

"Alright Hope, I promise. After we are settled we will talk again. All I ask is that you give me space until then. I still need to figure this all out and when the time comes I would like to be able to give you a real answer." I give him a small smile.

"Don't worry Light. I give you my word. I will not pressure you, I will not push. Just promise me one more thing." He pauses for a minute.

"What is it Hope?"

"Promise me that things won't change between us. I know that in all reality everything has changed, but I don't want you to pull away from me. I know you said you need space and I will give you all the space you need, but I just couldn't deal with it if I can't be close to you at all. You are my best friend, the one person I know I can rely on through anything, you are too important to me to lose. I need you Light." The intensity of his words startle me for a moment. I don't know what to say.

"I can't promise that." Hope gasps quietly. "Please listen. I can't promise that everything will be as it was, because like you said everything has changed. However I can promise to try. You are important to me too. I like how close we are. You are the only person other than Serah to even really try to understand me, and you are the only person who does understand me. Serah tries, but you are different, so so different. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't want to lose you either."

"Alright Light. I understand. I promise to give you the space you need."

"And I promise to try to not let things change too much between us while I try to figure everything out." We both smile at one another and he wraps him arms around me again. This time I respond to his embrace. I rest my head on his shoulder and relax. My head doesn't feel so clouded and as a whole I feel so much better. After a bit I pick my head back up. "Come on, we should probably head back." Hope sighs.

"You're probably right, but I really don't want to. I don't want this moment to end." I smile and shake my head at him. Then I shiver slightly, though Hope still notices. "Alright, let's head back and get you next to the fire. I don't know why you ended up back in your uniform, but it's not made very well for cold nights." He takes my hand and we head back to camp. Right before we enter the meadow I stop and turn him so he's facing me.

"Hope."

"Yea Light." He looks at me curiously.

"One more. I want one more kiss before we go back. After that we try to go back to normal, but first…" He smiles at me and puts his finger to my lips.

"It's alright Light. I understand." He wraps his arms around me, pulling me close, and gently presses his lips to mine. I feel so light, like I could just float away. I respond by deepening the kiss. We don't have quite the same passion as our first kiss, but the love is still there. When we pull away he pulls me to him tight, his mouth next to my ear. "Light, you don't have to respond to this, I don't even expect you to say anything but I need to tell you. You need to know that I love you. I have always loved you, and I always will. Whatever happens know this, I am yours." He kisses my temple, smiles at me, and walks back to the fire. I just stand there taking his words in.

He does love me. Part of me always knew this, but that doesn't compare in the slightest to actually hearing him say it. I smile widely to myself and touch where he kissed my temple. Damn, I'm acting like a love-struck teenager. I shake my head at myself and try to regain my composure. But I can't quit smiling. He loves me. He really loves me. I'm still not positive about how I feel, but I don't think I have ever been this happy. Here I am, smiling like an idiot and it's all because he loves me. I finally accept that I'm not going to stop smiling and I make my way back to camp. I definitely have to talk to Serah in the morning.

…

A/N: Okay, so another extra fluffy chapter. I hope you all liked it. The next few chapters will begin to focus more on rebuilding society and the other characters. The main characters are still Hope and Light, but there will definitely be more interaction with everyone else. How did you guys like Hope's POV? Should I do some more, or should I stick with Light only? Let me know in a review. Later.


	5. Moving Forward

Disclaimer- I own NOTHING!

Summary- Lightning and her friends have won. Now they have a new world that they must make their own. Though they know that together they can do anything.

Chapter 5: Moving Forward

…

The rest of the night passes quietly. In the morning everyone wakes up refreshed and ready to get moving. As we gather up what few supplies we have I keep finding myself watching Hope, recalling the events of the previous night. I notice Fang keeps giving me suspicious looks from time to time. She didn't say anything when I returned to camp, but she did give me a knowing smile before turning back to the fire.

Everyone is chatting and laughing and making plans. There is still some tension between Hope and Noel, but I do think our talk helped. They were able to talk without the subtle hostility in Hope's voice I observed before.

I would really like to talk to Serah, but I can't seem to find a minute with her without her oaf of a fiancé. Ever since we were all reunited they haven't been more than five feet from each other. I suppose it's understandable, but it is still really frustrating. I don't want that idiot to know anything's up and I know that if I ask Serah to talk with me alone he will ask questions and in the end Serah will tell him everything. Then my luck turns around and she asks me to show her where the stream is, so she can clean up a bit before we set off for the day.

Vanille starts to make as if she wants to go too, but Fang gives her a look and shakes her head. It's almost as if she knows that I want to speak with Serah alone. She does seem to have a knack for knowing things she really shouldn't. Either way I am grateful to her for running interference for me.

"All right Serah. Let's go." I say as I grab a few apples for us to eat of the way. She gives Snow a hug and a kiss and we set off. We walk in silence for a bit while I try to figure out how to start. Serah seems to notice my unease.

"Hey Sis, what's wrong? You seem tense, more tense than usual anyway. Is something the matter?" She stops walking and gently touches my arm to make sure she has my attention.

"Huh, oh. I just have a lot on my mind right now." I touch my chin in thought, trying to figure out how to bring up what happened with Hope. "Actually maybe you can help me with something." She seems shocked by my admission, which is understandable given how much I've closed off in the past.

"Oh, how so? I'm not sure how much help I can be, but I'll try my best." She smiles at me and we start walking again.

'Well, I'm not really sure where to start. It's kind of… complicated." Then we reach the stream and our conversation is put on hold as we both work to clean ourselves up. For only being in this world for one day we both are covered in dirt, and Serah didn't even get the benefit of falling into the stream yesterday like I had. As we wash ourselves Serah begins to speak again.

"So why don't you start from the beginning. I mean, if you don't know where to start that seems like a good place."

"Right." I take a deep breath and explain everything that happened from my time as Savior, the fight with Bhunivelze, Me saving Hope, Hope saving me, and then everything that happened yesterday. "So that's everything that has happened and now I don't know what to do or what to think. I've never been in any sort of relationship before and I'm not even sure how I feel about any of this. So tell me, what am I supposed to do?" Serah is quite the entire time I am talking. When I finish she takes a deep breath.

"Well that is quite a bit. I can see how you're all confused, but tell me this; when Hope told you that he loves you how did it make you feel?"

"I don't know. I mean I was happy, really happy. I felt like there butterflies in my stomach, and I couldn't stop smiling." Serah smiles.

"And what about when you kissed? How did it feel?" I think about it for a minute.

"It felt nice, it was nice."

"_Sis_."

"Alright it was really good. And I think I kind of liked it. And I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. And I think I might want to do it again. There happy now?" Serah jumps excitedly.

"YES! Sis you totally love him! You love Hope!" Her words shock me a bit, but at the same time I think I might have already known that.

"I don't know Serah. Isn't it a bit too soon to say that I…" I struggle to say the word, "love him. I mean I only just accepted that I _might possibly_ have feelings for him at all." Serah deflated a bit.

"Oh alright. But you do like him, like a lot. OOO Sis this is so exciting! You two will be so cute together. Oh and if you guys get married, your kids will be just adorable!" She starts getting excited again.

"Calm down Serah. I think you're getting a bit ahead of yourself. We're not even officially together yet." Serah calmed down again. "We agreed to put any sort of relationship we might have on hold until we are all settled down. We don't want to take our focus away from trying to survive at the moment."

'Oh fine. Geez ruin all my fun why don't you." Serah says, with a mock pout.

"Serah."

"Fine. I won't say anything, I promise. Come on, why don't we head back. The others are probably starting to wonder what's taking so long, and we have a lot to get done." Serah starts walking back in the direction of our makeshift camp.

"Right. And remember; NOT. A. WORD. To anyone, not even Snow, especially not Snow."

"But he's my fiancé. How can I keep a secret this big from him?" Serah starts pouting again.

"_Serah_." I say my patience running thin..

"Okay, okay I won't say anything to Snow, or anyone else." Serah says quickly before taking off running and laughing.

"What have I gotten myself into?" I mumble to myself before running to catch up with my pain-in-the-butt little sister.

…

As we reach camp we can see that the others are all ready to go. They are all sitting around the remains of the camp fire waiting for us. Snow is the first one to notice us approach.

"Hey Baby, hey Sis." He stands up and pulls Serah into his arms. I begin to correct him, but then just let it go. He's going to keep calling me that, why waste my breath. "Now that you two are back we can head out."

The others all stand up and we head in the direction that I sent Fang and Vanille the day before. Those two are in the lead, followed by Serah and Snow, who is talking everyone's ears off, and behind them are Noel and Yuel, with Hope and me bringing up the rear.

We don't talk much at first, mostly sneaking looks at each other when the other isn't looking. The silence, while a little awkward, is not entirely uncomfortable. It gives us both time to think over everything. I think back to my conversation with Serah. I'm still confused, but I do think it helped.

'So did you have a good time with Serah?" Hope's words were unexpected and startled me a bit, but I recovered quickly.

"Yea, it was nice to be able to have a little just, just the two of us. It's been a long time since we've spent any real time together. Not just the last thousand years, but before everything. I was busy with work and didn't have much time to spend with her. I focused so much on providing a good life for her and in the end I just pushed her away. It's no wonder she ended up with Snow." I look away from Hope, ashamed of the way I used to be.

"Hey, don't be upset. Serah understands, and besides you're not the same person you were back then. If you really feel that bad about it just apologize, though I'm near positive that it's not necessary." He smiles at me and I shake my head.

"Maybe you're right. I just don't even know how I would approach a subject like that." I let out a sigh, shake my head again, and run my fingers through my hair.

"Just tell her. She loves you Light. Trust me, everything will be fine." He gives me a soft smile.

"Alright, I'll give it a try. Thanks Hope." I smile at him.

"HEY YOU TWO! HURRY UP!" I look up and notice that the group is pretty far ahead of us and we jog to catch up. When we do Serah smiles brightly, barely able to contain her excitement at whatever she thinks happened between Hope and me just now.

"What happened? We looked up and suddenly you two were nowhere to be found. For a minute there we thought you guys had ditched us."

"Ha ha Snow. Sorry guys, were just got caught up talking and didn't realize how far behind we were." Hope says as we reach the rest of the group. "So how much further do we have to go? We've been walking for a while."

"Not too much farther, it's just past that little grove there." Fang says pointing the direction we are heading.

"Alright then, let's get going." I say moving in the direction Fang had pointed to. Now instead of pairing off, we all walk in a big group. Everyone is talking to one another, I even see Hope chatting away with Noel. Hope looks up at me and I smile at him, then go back to my conversation with Fang. We are discussing what we should do after we get to the waterfall.

"Honestly what we really need to do is find a place to settle permanently, unless of course you plan on us all being nomads the rest of our lives."

"No, you're right Fang, but I think we need to find some more people first. Not that I don't think we could do it on our own, but it would be easier with more people."

"Well look at you Sunshine. When did you become all social?"

'It's not social, it's necessity. With more people we could build shelters fast, gather more food, and still have people to keep look out. We still don't know what kind of creatures live in this world, we need to be careful."

"You're right about all of that, but with more people it also means we need to build more shelters and find more food. And it's a lot easier to keep people safe when there aren't too many to look after. Look I'm not saying that you're wrong, but that we need to think about all points here. My main priority has been and always be Vanille. After her comes the rest of you guys and then it's the rest of the world." Fang glances back to where Vanille is talking animatedly with Serah and Snow.

"I know that. We all have our priorities, but we can't overlook the fact that, as long as everyone does their share, having more people means better chances of survival."

"What if we just settle down somewhere and let the people come to us. I'm sure we're not the only people to end up around here. That way we can work to make sure our lot have someplace to live and as more people come we can expand. That sound good to you?" I consider it for a minute, thinking about how that would work for us all.

"Yea, I think that could work. But first we need to find somewhere that could accommodate everyone, preferably somewhere close to a water source, with plenty of land for us to build and farm as well."

"Okay then, and while we search for this place we can pick up any people we find who want to join us."

"Sound good."

'Alrighty then." She then moves a bit fast, moving over a slight hill. "The waterfall is just over there. We're getting close." I can hear the sound of rushing water and know she's right. We all pick up the pace to catch up, each of us ready for a break from all this walking. By my estimate we have been walking for about 3 or 4 hours and I can see that everyone is getting tired.

As we make it over the hill we are greeted by an absolutely breath taking sight. On one side there is the waterfall that looks to be 50ft tall, followed by an absolutely huge river. The only way I can find to get across is the path that Fang and Vanille say is behind the waterfall. On the other side of the river are vast plains with rolling hills. With the forest behind us this place is perfect. Fang come up beside me.

"Hey Light."

"Yea Fang."

"I think we've found our place."

"Yea."

…

A/N: Hey all! Sorry this took so long to get out. I have massive writer's block. I want to thank everyone who has left a review. Hope you all liked it and will leave a review. I will try to not take so long on the next chapter. Later!


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